First view of rare van Gogh drawing
AMSTERDAM: A newly discovered Vincent van Gogh drawing that had been hidden in a private collection for more than a century has gone on display for the first time at an Amsterdam museum.
Study for Worn Out, which depicts an old man sitting in a chair, was sketched by van Gogh in 1882 when he was starting a career that would later produce masterpieces including Sunflowers.
The owners, a Dutch family who bought the pencil drawing around 1910, asked the van Gogh Museum to authenticate it and experts confirmed that it was, indeed, a “new work” by the great artist.
“This one has never been seen before anywhere. It’s the first time that this drawing is out in the open,” van Gogh Museum senior researcher Teio Meedendorp said.
“It comes from a Dutch private collection where it has been for a very long time.”
The drawing will be on display at the museum until January 2 before it is returned to the owners.
“It’s quite rare for a new work to be attributed to van Gogh,” said Emilie Gordenker, the director of the van Gogh Museum.
“We’re proud to be able to share this early drawing and its story with our visitors.”
The van Gogh Museum already owns a similar drawing called Worn Out, which the artist made about the same time and said he preferred.
Both drawings are part of a series of “hundreds and hundreds” of sketches van Gogh made when he was living in The Hague and learning the artist’s trade.